Roar of the Lion
by massacoppsan
Summary: A mission gone awry. A Commander facing a decision that will change him forever. An ally of a new variety. And the poor poor world that decides to stand against him. (PG13 for cursing descriptive violence and torture.) updated
1. Default Chapter

(Authors note) I am re-posting this. I had some time to think. A stint out in Iraq can do that. Hopefully I can actually make something with this story. I actually got reviews and that was encouraging as well.

(Disclaimer). Because I want to put one up too. I don't have enough money to live off base. Much less own a multinational gaming corporation or the rights to anything they produce. I have no idea what possessed me with the ideas for this story and I apologize in advance if it sucks. That being said let's get down to the mayhem.)

The sky rumbled loudly and lightning split the sky. The flashes of light briefly illuminated three rain soaked SEEDs.

Squall looked up into the sky watching as another bolt of lightning lit the horizon. His rain soaked hair hung limply over his face, obscuring his right eye. Squall didn't care though. He glanced over at his companions. Zell Dincht was leaning against a large boulder the rain had caused his hair to lay flat against his head and there were rivulets of blood being washed out of his hair by the storm. Irvine Kienas lay on the muddy ground his expression a mask of pure misery. His cowboy hat had been shredded by bullets and scorched by magic. Yet he still clung to it as if it was the greatest thing in his world. Squall turned his gaze back to the sky.

He let his thoughts wander to Rinoa. He wondered what she was doing right now. Was she safe? Was she thinking about him? His face fell a bit more as he thought about their final parting before he left. "Squall can't you send someone else?" She had asked. "You know I can't Rinoa. This mission is too dangerous for me to even bring you along." She sighed and hugged him tightly softly kissing his lips. "Please be careful for me." She whispered. Before He could even reply she had turned and walked off.

"Squall. SQUALL!" Zell shook Squall's arm and sighed in relief as his eyes focused and he came black to this word. "Geez man you ok? Come on they are coming again. Squall silently got back to his feet and grabbed Lionheart. The weapons weight reassured him. It was the one object he allowed himself to draw comfort from. Irvine sat up and grabbed an object wrapped in his trench coat. He turned his eyes to the east. "How far?" He asked. Irvine looked intently for a few moments. Four hundred yards. "Shit" Squall cursed quietly. How had the Galbadians caught up that quickly? "Be ready to move in three minutes." He then turned to his own gear and began thrusting items in his pack. Three minutes later the elite SEED's set off at a run to the west. As they ran Squalls mind went back to Cid's office five days ago. When the headmaster had first informed them of this mission.

Squall, the Esthar government has contracted us to find and destroy a Galbadian base that they believe is hidden in the Centra mountains. They have paid top gil in advance and have called for our three top SEED's to move out immediately. Cid handed him a sealed envelope. He looked almost scared. "Squall this is a very dangerous mission. It is believed that this is a weapons research facility. Expect heavy resistance." Cid forced a small smile. Not that I have any doubt in your abilities but… Cid trailed off. "Just be careful Squall. Squall snapped a sharp salute and walked out of the office.

His thoughts were interrupted again as a fireball exploded in front of them. The team drew up short as a team of Galbadian soldiers stepped out of the boulder-strewn field ahead of them. "AGAIN?!" Zell cried in dismay. He slammed his fist against the ground. "Hyne why won't they give up? They just keep coming." Squall breathed deeply. He hated to admit it but Zell was right. Every time they thought they had given the Galbadians the slip they were found again. "I'm sick of this." Squall growled. His face was filled with fury. I'm sick of running. I'm sick of being shot at. AND IM SICK OF THESE DAMN GALBADIANS BEING ON OUR BACKS AT EVERY TURN." He drew Lionheart and glared defiantly at the leading Galbadian. Zell looked concerned at Squall's outburst. Ever since they had begun running he had been his usual silent self. With Rinoa's help he had begun actually showing his emotions. Now...now there was something about his behavior. Something dark. It scared him.

Irvine unwrapped his beloved shotgun from his trench coat. He too was sick of everything about this mission. He was sick of being kept away from Selphie. He broke down his shotgun and loaded two pulse shells. He kept his eyes on Squall. He was worried about that look in his eye. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the battle.

Squall began slowly walking towards the Galbadian formation. The five men grinned at the sight of their battle weary prey and spread out around him. Each of them held a long thin katana in his hands, the standard issue weapon of the Galbadian army. Yet these were no average soldiers. All of the SEED's could see that. The men had the poise and radiated the confidence of men who had seen vicious battles and come out on top. They were a hardened squad. Of that there was no doubt.

Squalls grip tightened on Lionheart's hilt. Zell loudly popped his knuckles. Irvine pumped his shotgun and flicked the safety off as he brought it to his shoulder.

The five men lunged forward their blades all aimed to skewer Squall where he stood. Only he wasn't there anymore. Squall danced back a step as Lionheart came crashing down on one of the outstretching blades, slamming it into the ground. Then squall was moving. He roughly shouldered the smallest Galbadian and moved passed him. He turned and slammed his elbow into the man's nose as he turned to follow. Then he brought Lionheart around in a vicious arc that sunk into the man's shoulder and neck. The man fell to the ground in a spray of blood as Squall wrenched his blade free and thrust it at the chest of the soldier to his right. The man brought his sword up in a wild parry but managed to deflect Squall's thrust. The soldier then cried out in surprise as a pulse round from Irvine's shotgun lodged itself in his back and exploded, covering squall and the two men closest to him in blood and viscera.

Zell was throwing precise calculated punches at the soldier closest to him. Using his adamantine gloves to deflect the thrusts slashes and stabs that Galbadian man threw at him. He ducked as the soldier tried to take his head off and followed up with a sharp punch to the throat. The soldier staggered back, his hand clutching his windpipe as he tried to suck in a breath of air.

Irvine was sighting in on the leader of the squad when the man threw up his hands. Irvine had time to blink before a firaga spell slammed into his chest knocking him flying through the air. He landed with a thud on the rocky ground and lay still.

Zell ducked slash aimed at his neck and grabbed the soldier's outstretched arm. He gave a sharp twist. The man gave a shrill scream as his arm fractured and a shard of bone was pushed through his skin, he staggered away his arm dripping only to pass out a moment later. Zell turned his attention to the last soldier as the Commander turned to Squall and held up his sword in a mocking salute. Then lunged.

Squall was caught by surprise by the Commander's speed and wildly parried the Commander's strike and fought for his stance. The Galbadian paused and regained his own stance. Squall felt something bubble inside him. A fierce anger he thought had deserted him. The Commander struck once more. Squall sidestepped the overhead slash and swung his sword low, aiming for the knees. The commander pivoted and dropped the point of his sword to the ground blocking Squalls slice. Both men took a step back and regained their stances. This time Squall entered the attack feinting at the man's shoulder and then pulling his sword back spinning around delivering a power slash at his opponent's side. Yet again the large Galbadian's sword interposed itself between Squall's sword and his target. The Galbadian slashed for Squall's neck. Even as the sword moved squall ducked and thrust at the man's gut. The Lionheart bit home and blood spurted from the Galbadian commander's armor. Yet the soldier would not fall. He stepped back and held his hand against the wound and muttered, "cure". Squall saw a blue glow and the flesh mended. Then took a quick step back as the Galbadian's sword sought to sunder his sword arm from its shoulder. Squall let out a guttural growl and narrowed his eyes. Then brought lionheart around in a lightning quick strike. Slamming the glowing blade down on top of the Galbadian's sword. Driving it into the ground. Squall took a step back and felt his rage building. The Galbadian looked up from trying to free his sword from the rocky ground. For the first time he saw his opponents face and froze. One of his eyes was covered by his hair. But the left eye. There was something in that eye. A hate that he had never seen before, he felt all the joy happiness anger and sorrow almost being sucked from his body. The only thing he was able to feel was terror.

Then Squall struck.

"LIONHEART" Squall bellowed. Bringing the flat of his sword up and knocking the Galbadian up into the air. Squall leapt into the air after him and began hacking and slashing the defenseless man with stroke after stroke. Finally bringing his sword down in a clean diagonal slice and cutting the man into two pieces. Squall landed on one knee and planted Lionheart into the ground, as he took a deep breath he watched his opponent's pieces land around him.

Zell and his opponent had both stopped fighting. Watching their respective commanders battle it out. After seeing how quickly his Commander was defeated the Galbadian turned and ran as fast as he could. Zell relaxed and looked over at Squall. With a start he realized that Squall had his hand outstretched and was concentrating on something. "METEOR!" Squall yelled. Zell watched in fascination and horror as flaming rocks rained from the skies impacting all around the panicked man until finally a rock landed directly on top of him. Flattening him with a squelch.

Squall finally lowered his hand. His eyes passed over the death that he and his team had caused in the past few minutes and sighed. His eyes focused on Zell. Who now looked at him like he was some sort of daemon. "What the hell was that about man?" He wasn't a threat anymore. Whydja waste him man? Squall remained silent as he walked over to Irvine. "Cure." He muttered. Irvine stirred and finally woke up. Rising to his feet. "What happened?"

Squall remained silent his face becoming stony again. Zell mentally sighed in relief and told Irvine in a hushed voice everything that happened as the trio set off west at a much slower pace. The sounds of Galbadian pursuit falling behind them.

(so how was that? I'm just blindly posting this. Feel free to mail me or review with flames critiques or the like. Next chapter I promise to include the other characters and get some actual dialogue down. Till then remember that if it has lots of sharp pointy teeth and is baring them at you. It does not want to be your friend)


	2. The Mission

"What is up with the rain in this stupid place?" Zell said to himself. "It stops it starts it stops it starts. Hyne I hate this place."

As if on cue the rain once again stopped and the group was able to see more than thirty yards in front of them. "We will stop here." Squall spoke up. "Its close enough to our extraction. Zell set up the transponder and tell Balamb to pick us up. Squall nearly collapsed against a boulder. His face a mask of stone. Though anyone could see that he was in more pain than he would ever let on.

"Sure. No prob." Zell replied. He was glad Squall had decided to stop. He was getting tired. By the look of it Irvine wasn't faring much better and Squall. Zell shook his head. Squall would talk when he was ready. He dug into his pack and pulled out what looked very much like a small radio. In fact it was a radio. Zell pushed a button on the top and a small red light started to blink on the antenna. He fiddled with the dial for a moment then held the radio to his mouth and spoke in a low but clear voice. "Balamb control this is SEED three do you copy?"

A moment later a voice spoke up. "This is Balamb control we copy. Is that you Zell?"

Zell smirked. "Hey Nida. What's happening?"

"The usual Zell. Just keeping this thing from running into mountains." Nida replied. "The Garden is parked by Fisherman's Horizon right now and taking on supplies. What's your status?"

"Our mission is a success." Zell reported. "We are standing by for our extraction."

"Affirmative Zell. We will be there as soon as we finish loading up. ETA…two hours."

"Roger Balamb. SEED three out." Zell clicked off the radio and placed it on a nearby rock. "Squall. Retrieval in two hours."

Squall nodded then leaned on his hand. Obscuring his face. His thoughts were on the mission and the things that had happened.

Zell sat down next to Irvine. The cowboy was in considerably better spirits than their leader. "What's up Zell?" He asked as Zell sat down.

"I'm worried about squall." He replied. "He won't let us near those injuries of his and some of them are damn serious."

Irvine nodded sagely. "Who knows what he went through before he let us out. Me I'm not gonna complain. Whatever is affecting him it saved our asses. My guess is right now he is just trying to forget about it.

Zell fell silent. Irvine had a point but he just knew it was something else this time. He looked over at Squall. Squall was sitting on a rock running a whetstone over Lionheart. He certainly looked detached.

Irvine sat back. There was nothing to do now but wait. He pulled what was left of his hat over his eyes and tried to sleep.

Squall sat on a rock sharpening Lionheart and running through the day's events in his mind. The mission had been much much more than he had ever thought. The price was very clear. His thoughts drifted back to trip to Centra.

"So Squall. What's the mission? Irvine asked.

Squall pulled out the envelope Cid had given him and ripped the seal. He pulled out a data disc and plugged it into the boats computer.

"Good Morning SEED's." Cid's voice came from the speakers. "Here are the details of your mission today. Two weeks ago an orbiting spacecraft from Esthar saw what looked like explosion somewhere in the mountains of Centra. The Esthar military sent a scouting party that reported a heavily guarded Facility that appeared to be doing weapons testing. Due to the sensitive political nature of the assignment President Loire decided to hire SEED to investigate and if need be destroy this facility.

"Figures." Squall interrupted. "Always letting someone else does the work."

"The Esthar scouts reported numerous patrol groups as well as fixed defensive installations." Cid continued. "This was what made us decide to send you three. You are most capable for the job. Your objectives are as follows.

1. Slip past or neutralize the perimeter defenses

2. Discover the nature of the research at the facility.

3. If the research is of a military nature destroy all research and backup files.

That is all." The screen went blank.

"That is our mission." Squall said. Any questions?"

"What do we need to sneak in for?" Zell asked. Lets just plow through those defenses."

Squall frowned. "One reason we are not going to do that is because there will be several of these on patrol." On the screen a picture of what looked like a very large Robot spider came into focus. Zell's face immediately sobered.

"That's right. Galbadia appears to have re-instituted the X-ATM092 project. We are to expect anywhere from four to fifteen of these machines. I know we have all faced them at some point and can be beaten. However where there is an X-ATM092 there will be soldiers. So lets keep this op quiet. The Lab is located here." The screen lit up with a picture of a building nestled into a mountain. "The Galbadians have hewn their facility straight into the mountain." Squall continued. "We believe however that there is an entrance for lab personnel near the weapons testing area which we assume to be here." The screen focused again. The Esthar scouts said that the area here seemed to have been blasted recently. Assuming they are correct this will be our primary means of entry. Patrols should be much easier to avoid due to the size of the area. Most of the soldiers and machines will be located at the front entrance. More questions?"

Silence was his reply.

"Good." Squall said. "Now lets do an equipment check. Zell, in your pack you should have a transponder/radio to Balamb, three shaped charges. We will use these to demolish the computers and research. You should also have a two phoenix downs and three potions.

Zell checked his gear. "I got all of it Squall."

Squall nodded. "Good. Irvine, you should have three shaped charges as well as an ammo belt for your shotgun and two machine pistols with three full magazines for each. You should also have three dynamo stones and two flare stones."

"I check out Squall." Irvine replied.

"Alright." Squall continued. "I am carrying a bandoleer of gunblade ammo as well as a slicer tool to get past security. I also have three grenades a phoenix down and two additional charges."

Now under no circumstances are we to intentionally split up. However if that does happen then you are to continue with the mission. These will keep us in communication even If we get split up."

Squall held out his hand. On it there were two earpieces.

"These are coded but if we don't use them then there will be no chance of intercepted transmissions."

A chime sounded in the forward part of the boat.

Squall looked up. "That's our five minute warning. When we hit the beach come out moving and get into cover fast. Hopefully we're not spotted but we wont take the chance."

Squall sat back down and dug into his pack. He pulled out the ammo bandoleer and loaded Lionheart with pulse ammo. Next to him Irvine had slung his shotgun behind his back and had pulled out both machine pistols and was checking them. Zell was pacing and punching the air. Which was good enough since he didn't have a weapon to check anyway.

The chime sounded again and the boats driver came over the loudspeaker.

"We hit the beach in thirty seconds. As soon as you are off our orders are to pull back and return to Garden at all possible speed. Good luck gentlemen." The voice paused as boat gave tremendous jolt. Light spilled into the troop bay as the doors opened. "GO GO GO." The driver shouted.

The SEEDs did not need telling twice. They sprinted out of the boat and onto the rocky beach. Irvine ducked behind a boulder. Squall veered to the left and took cover behind a dune of gravel. Zell moved to the right and skidded behind another boulder. All three sat perfectly still while the insertion boat pulled away from the beach and sped away.

Squall was the first to lift his head and check the area. No shouts of alarm came. Nothing skewered his head. So he took a better look around. The beach was strewn with rocks of all sizes from pebbles that he was hiding behind to medium size boulders and a few that were taller than a man. It was desolate and cloudy with not a single plant in sight. A couple miles away the mountain range began. Squall got up and walked over to the boulder that Irvine was hiding behind.

Irvine looked up and suddenly felt very silly crouching behind the boulder when Squall was standing in plain view. "So are we all clear then?" He asked. Squall just nodded and walked towards Zell's boulder.

The blonde fighter seemed to be lost in his own world as he struggled to peak around his boulder without presenting himself to whatever it was that he was hiding from. Squall tapped him on the shoulder.

"YEARGHHH!!!" Zell screamed and tried to jump to his feet and turn around at the same time. As a result he tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his back. "Geez Squall you scared the crap outta me. Whaja do that for anyway?" Squall just hung his head and walked away. He liked Zell he really did. But sometimes the man could be clumsier than Laguna.

Irvine stood next to Squall chuckling at Zell's antics. "Were clear Zell lets get moving? And for Hyne sake keep your voice down.

Zell rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Right. Sorry about that."

Three hours later they had worked their way into the mountains. Squall noticed an area that looked a bit blackened and charred. That must be the testing ground. He thought. He pointed it out to Irvine and Zell who both agreed with him. They descended the mountain and crossed onto the testing ground.

Irvine kept his head on a swivel as they crossed the testing ground. What the hell was that? He asked himself. He could have sworn he just saw something move. There it was again. He tapped Squall on the shoulder and pointed to the area.

Squall followed Irvine's outstretched finger to what looked like a boulder. Sure enough after about a minute it seemed to move. "What do you think it is?" He asked Irvine.

"I dunno. It is probably still about a mile away. We should get closer." Irvine replied.

"Agreed, but with weapons out." Squall removed his scabbard from his shoulder and drew Lionheart, then slung the scabbard back over his shoulder and cinched it down so it would not get in his way. Irvine un-slung Exeter and chambered a pulse round. Zell popped his knuckles.

The group spread out. Irvine took the center, Squall was on the left and Zell on the right. As they got closer they saw that the boulder that was moving had clamshell doors. A technician was bringing equipment up through the doors. How they opened or what controlled them was not apparent.

There were also two Galbadian soldiers standing guard. Though their backs were to the SEEDs. Squall knelt behind a boulder and the others joined him.

"Lets keep this simple." Squall whispered. "Irvine and I will take the guards. Zell you get the tech, make sure that he is conscious. I want to question him. Don't let him sound an alarm though. We make our move as soon as the tech goes back down.

"No prob Squall." Zell whispered excitedly. "I'll have that tech so fast he wont know what hit him.

"Whatever."

The group slowly crept closer. As they got closer they saw that the Galbadians were not paying the slightest attention to the world around. In fact the Tech seemed to be the most alert of the group. Both soldiers were armed with the standard issue Galbadian sword.

The tech disappeared down the hatch again and the SEEDs moved.

Squall and Irvine ran as silently as they could toward the guards. As they approached one guard turned his head and saw Squall.

"What the…?" Was all he got out as Squall brought Lionheart diagonally across the soldiers neck.

It was enough. The other soldier was more alert than squall gave him credit for. He backpedaled rapidly and drew his sword. Then he turned and Rushed Irvine.

Damn he's fast. Irvine thought. He ducked under a wicked slash aimed for his neck and jammed the barrel of Exeter against the soldier's stomach. Not fast enough. He added with a grim smile. Irvine pulled the trigger.

After the hours of relative silence the roar of the shotgun sounded more like a large bomb had been detonated. The pulse round hit the soldier's spine before it exploded and the explosion liquefied the man's entire torso. The head flew straight into the air while the arms dropped to the ground. The waist and legs stood for a moment before toppling.

Just as Irvine fired the Tech came out. Took one look around. And ran as fast as he could the way he came.

"GET HIM ZELL!" Squall shouted.

Zell sped off down the stairs after the tech. As he rounded a corner at the bottom of the stairs a blur sped toward his face.

The tech dropped the length of pipe he had used to bludgeon Zell and ran as fast as he could down the corridor.

"Shit, damn f&k. Zell swore violently and clutched his nose. Your gonna die you skinny freak!" Zell sped off after the Tech. As he ran he held his hands to his torso.

"HASTE."

The spell's energy flowed through him and he tripled his speed. Quickly gaining on the tech. The man had stopped and was trying to work something on the wall. "Shit. Alarms." Zell said to himself just as he tackled the man directly into the wall.

There was a loud crack and an even louder scream. The tech was clutching his arm, which was quite broken.

Zell was still sore about the pipe to the face and grabbed the tech by the collar of his lab coat and began dragging him back down the corridor to the clamshell. When he stood on the stairs the doors opened and Squall and Irvine ducked inside.

"Are you ok Zell?" Irvine asked.

"Yeah. Little creep was waiting at the bottom of the steps with a pipe." He dropped the tech and held his hand to his face. "Cure." He muttered. He sighed as the pain faded and the cuts healed.

Squall knelt by the whimpering man. "We are going to make this brief and depending on your cooperation you can either be a casualty or an informant." He held Lionheart to the Man's throat. "So what's it gonna be?"

The Tech stiffened. "You're too late." He scoffed. "I already hit the alarm. The security detail will be here any second. If you let me go they might just take you prisone…" The tech trailed off as Squall lightly pressed Lionheart against his jugular. Easy, easy man. Ok I'll talk."

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Squall asked. "Now then. Did you trigger an alarm?

The Tech tried to move away from the blade. "No…No man I was just tryin to get you to let me go."

"Where is the nearest lab?"

"End of the corridor. Where Blondie tackled me."

"Get up." Squall Commanded.

The man got to his feet and the group walked down the hall and into the lab. The tech keyed the door open and stepped in behind Squall.

"What is this purpose of this facility?" Squall asked.

"I..I can't tell you." The tech answered. "If I tell you they'll kill me."

"If you don't tell me then you are already dead." Squall Responded.

"We..we're supposed to clone and genetically alte…" The man was cut off as the back of his head exploded.

A squad of Galbadians stepped into the lab. Suddenly it was a lot more crowded.

The leader spoke up. "We're here to research ways to kill SEED's. Though I don't know why we waste our time. It seems that we are already pretty good at it."

He leveled his gun and the two other soldiers raised their swords.

Squall held up Lionheart and Irvine chambered another round.

Zell popped his knuckles and held up his fists. "Lets dance boys."

A/N did I just leave a cliffhanger? Yes I did. Thanks the folks who reviewed. Thanks especially to Queen for giving me tips for my writing. Hopefully it's a bit better. Questions comments flames. You know what to do. Hopefully I will have the next installment done by the end of the weekend. Don't worry. There will be much more blood in that one. For those who want to see the other characters all I can say is soon enough. Well that's that. I'm gonna go do what I do best. Sleep. Have a nice weekend.

Mike

Tracer rounds work both ways.


	3. Information Gained

Hi folks. Nice to be back. In case you were wondering no I did not just leave the story hanging. It was time for me to go home and visit the home I had not seen for almost a year. Sorry but that means that writing went on the backburner for a bit. But regardless I am back and still very grateful for all of you that reviewed me.

I have a question and a couple of non-plot killing answers.

First off. Can anybody tell me how the hell to make realize that I am indenting with each paragraph. The damn stories look like I failed high school grammar. I would appreciate any help. I am using Microsoft word if that is important.

Now answers for those of you who have questions.

XXI: There were only 3 SEED's sent because the purpose of the mission was recon and sabotage. That is not something to be undertaken by a large group. Also bear in mind that the best of the best were sent.

Nameless Reviewer: You didn't have questions but you did have suggestions and I appreciate those. I am not inclined to bump off a major character. Yet. Also I do not intend to break up and mix around relationships. Though the idea has merit I just don't really know how to pull it off.

Thanks also to Dream-Kingdom, Statik Paranoia, Seth8, One with no name, Hassun, and Gunblade 8 for commenting on either my violence or the darker nature of my story or just saying to keep it up. I would buy you all a beer if I could.

Oh and Hassun. I have Zell popping his knuckles as his way of preparing himself. Squall gets to pull his gunblade. Irvine gets to pump his shotgun. Zell gets to stand dumbfounded with a funny look unless I have him do something. However just for you I will see if I can throw a couple other actions in as well.

Ok enough of this mushy crap. Lets get back to the killing.

Squall threw himself behind a desk as the Galbadian squad leader leveled his machine gun at him and pulled the trigger. Squall howled in pain as one of the bullets caught him in the shin. Gritting his teeth he held his hand to his bleeding leg.

"Cura." He muttered.

He winced as the bulled was forced out of his leg by the knitting bones and flesh. A stone cold mask settled over his face and he rolled from behind the desk into a fighting position.

Zell squared off against one of the soldiers. He bent over pulling his stomach in as the soldier sliced at his stomach. On the back swing Zell caught the blade and brought his hand down hard on the soldiers wrist. The man blinked for a moment when his weapon was wrenched from his grasp but didn't hesitate further and stepped back and held up his hand.

"FIRA." He cried.

Zell's eyes widened. "Oh crap." He thought. Then he was blown into the wall by the explosion.

Irvine was engaged in a gun battle with the leader. Both were crouching behind a desk. Irvine had one of his submachine guns out and fired a burst over the top of the desk. The leader retaliated with a longer burst from his heavier gun. Irvine cursed as one of the bullets blew a hole through the metal desk an inch away from his elbow.

The last swordsman charged at Squall as soon as he came to his feet. Squall brought Lionheart around in a vicious arc. The Galbadian brought up his sword and parried the strike but was totally unprepared when Squall kicked out with his foot. The boot caught him square in the shin and the man cursed violently as he hopped back out of reach.

Squall stood with Lionheart at the ready and waited. The man quickly recovered and thrust at Squall's stomach. Squall brought Lionheart down on the seeking blade and quickly twisted and pulled back up. Jerking the sword out of the startled soldiers' hands. This man was not as quick to react as Zell's opponent. He barely even squeaked as Squall severed his head from his neck.

Squall ducked down as the leader tried to fill him with bullets.

The other swordsman had recovered his sword and was moving to finish off Zell when Squall moved to interpose. The soldier gave a small smile and held his sword at the ready. His eyes widened in shock as Irvine emptied the remainder of his clip into his back. Squall ducked behind the same desk as Irvine and nodded approvingly at his tactic.

The Galbadian squad leader was not feeling near as cocky anymore. He thought he had the situation under control when he got the drop on the SEED's. Now it was all he could do just to keep them behind that desk. He was still trying to figure out what to do when he heard a soft clink behind him. He turned and his eyes widened as the grenade exploded pitching him over the desk.

Squall stood and offered a hand to Irvine. Who accepted it. Squall pulled him up and walked over to the groaning man. His armor had absorbed most of the blast but he was definitely out of the fight.

Irvine walked over to Zell and checked him out. The fighter was breathing but barely. He placed his hands on Zell's chest. "Curaga." He said softly.

Zell's breathing evened out and his wounds closed but he remained unconscious.

Squall stood next to the burned and bleeding squad leader, leaning lightly on Lionheart.

"So." He said. "Lets try this line of questioning again. What is the purpose of this base?"

"Go fuck yourself." The soldier growled, then spat at him.

Squall wiped his shirt and pressed his gunblade lightly against the man's bicep. "Are you sure that's the way you want to play?" He asked. "It would be so much easier for both of us if you would reconsider."

"I told you to go fuck yourself SEED." The man replied.

The soldier screamed as Squall leaned down on Lionheart. Severing his bicep.

Irvine looked up at the leader's shrill scream. His face turned white when he saw what squall was doing. Then he saw that Squall's face was still as impassive as a slab of granite. He quickly turned back to Zell who was beginning to come around.

"Still want to play this way?" Squall asked as he pulled Lionheart from the man's arm.

"What the hell man? Are you crazy or something?" The leader ranted in a scared voice. "You must be really screwed up in the head."

"Whatever." Squall said. "Do I need to continue or are you ready to talk?" Squall placed Lionheart in the middle of the man's wrist."

"Easy kid I'll talk I'll talk." The leader said.

"Good." Squall said simply. Then pressed down on Lionheart again severing the Man's hand.

The Galbadian screamed even louder than before.

Irvine looked up again and ran over. "Squall what the hell is the matter with you? He said he would talk?"

"I know." Squall said. "That was to make sure he wasn't planning on lying." Squall set his gunblade on the desk and laid his hand on the blade and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on the gunblade and whispered. "Fire." The blade began to glow and Squall picked it up. "Hold him." He commanded Irvine.

Irvine's face turned white and he knelt by the Galbadian and put his weight on his shoulders.

Squall bent over and touched the glowing gunblade to the man's bleeding wrist.

The Galbadian screamed louder than ever and tried to writhe away from the searing heat.

After he finished Squall stood and laid his gunblade on the table. He looked over at Irvine. "Take Zell outside and secure that corridor." Squall pointed at the door that the Galbadians had come through a few minutes ago.

Irvine nodded and helped a still dazed Zell to his feet. When he got to the door he stopped. "Squall." He said.

Squall looked up.

"Go easy man. He has had enough."

Squall's face softened for a moment then hardened and he nodded.

The Galbadian looked over as Irvine walked out the door with Zell, then looked up with terror in his eyes as Squall focused on him again.

Twenty Minutes later squall came out of the room with Lionheart over his shoulder and the Leader's Machine gun in his other hand.

Irvine looked up.

Squall tossed the gun to Irvine. "I figured you could use this." Squall said.

"Thanks." Irvine replied. "Squall what was that about? I've never seen you like that before." Irvine asked as he checked out the gun.

"We needed information Irvine. I was not going to go further into this facility without knowing what else was waiting for us. If there had been another way to be sure I gladly would have taken it. But there was nothing else I could do and still be sure he was being straight with us." Squall's face softened as he spoke.

Irvine looked into Squall's eyes and nodded.

"Where is Zell?" Squall asked.

"Other end of the Corridor. Irvine replied. "I thought it might be best if he didn't know what was going on."

"You thought right." Squall replied. "Let's get him. You both need to hear this."

Four minutes later all three SEED's were standing at the end of the corridor.

"Squall took a look around and then began speaking. "It turns out our friend in the other room was Second in command for base security and defense so he had quite a bit to share with us. He didn't know everything but he did fill in a lot of gaps. This base is primarily being used as a genetic research and augmentation lab. They are experimenting on their own soldiers along with several varieties of monster. They are crossing DNA and adding cybernetics. Trying to make a better super soldier. They are apparently still a ways off though. The blasts that Esthar saw is the way the Lab disposes of failed projects. They lead the creatures outside and detonate about ten thousand pounds of high explosives."

"Did he say what was wrong with the creatures?" Zell asked.

"They are not exactly sure." Squall replied. "Most of them are Hybrids. They either injected the DNA of a monster into a human or vice versa. The problem is they did not expect extreme behavior changes. The human subjects became too vicious to control and the monster subjects either became cunning and vicious or docile."

"So what is the plan?" Irvine asked.

"The mainframe computer is still our primary target. Although I have determined that if we can get to the main generator we can definitely throw a monkey wrench in their plans. The cell walls for the creatures are electrified. If we kill the generator we should be able to slip out in the confusion."

"But wont we risk running into the monsters as well?" Zell piped up.

"Yes but it is a low risk. The monsters are on the lower levels with the mainframe. The generator is on this level. So we should be able to take out the generator in relative safety. Any questions?"

Both men shook their heads.

"Good." Lets go.

The SEED's set off down the corridor.

A/N Sorry this one was so short. This just seemed like too good of a stopping place to pass up on. I am going to go ahead and get started on the next chapter. You guys know the drill. I promise no two week lag on the next chapter.

Reviews are good. Give them to me.

Facing terror isn't half as fun as sharing it.

Mike


	4. Torture

A/N You can all just call me a liar. Between promises to update in a reasonable timeframe and well…updating in a reasonable timeframe. So to hell with it nothing can excuse it so I wont try. Here it is. I will update when I have a chance. I wont give an actual time because then I will miss it and you guys will hate me more. But enough of that crap. Here I go again. Warning. There are graphic torture scenes in this one. Enjoy.

The stench hit them as soon as the elevator doors opened. All three seeds gagged and struggled to breath through their mouths.

"Hyne what the hell is that stench?" Zell complained. It smells like a zoo but one that is never cleaned.

"There's the cause." Irvine said. Pointing towards the walls.

The room was huge. It seemed to be at least three hundred yards long. Lining both walls were cells. Inside there were creatures the SEEDs had never seen before. Some looked familiar but others totally failed to register. The room itself was unpainted and cheerless. The creatures' cells were hewn directly into the rock. They had a trough of food and one of water. The floors of the cells were covered in excrement.

Some of the larger creatures began to roar. Picking up the cue the rest of the test subjects began to cry out, adding to the deafening cacophony of sound.

"Well I guess our secret is out." Zell yelled. Lets blow the computers before company comes.

Squall nodded in agreement and the three SEEDs hurried to the door on the other end of the room. Once the doors closed behind them the sound was greatly muted.

"Well we found the Labs." Zell smirked.

The room they had stepped into could not be anything but a lab. The walls were a sterile white and the air smelled of cleaning solvents. In the middle of the room was a large stainless steel table. On the counter next to the table was a sterilizer and rack filled with scalpels, bone saws, forceps, and artery clamps. A sign on a door on the other side of the lab showed that the mainframe was behind the door. In smaller print the sign pointed out that only authorized personnel were permitted inside.

"I think we are about to become authorized." Squall said airily. "Irvine. Will you do the honors?"

Irvine nodded and leveled his shotgun at the door. One deafening boom later the door was in shambles and the room open too them.

Immediately a wall of cold air struck the SEEDs.

"Spread out. Find the primary mainframe and the network server." Squall said.

The three men spread out and checked the labels on each tower. The room looked infinitely complex. Fortunately the designers had foreseen this and labeled every part of the super computer.

"Squall. Here is Main server." Irvine called out.

Squall hurried over and handed Irvine a charge. Then returned to his bank of computers.

"Found it." He said to himself. He was looking at the central processing unit of the super computer. He placed a charge on the center of the tower.

"Squall." Zell called from across the room. "You might want to see this."

Squall walked over to Zell, who was standing between two towers. One was labeled backup memory, the other was labeled security protocol.

"Good work Zell." Squall grinned and handed Zell a charge. Zell turned to the security tower. Squall moved to the backup. Both men placed their charges.

"Set timers and tamper devices." Squall commanded.

The tamper device was a very simple thing. If someone touched the charge after the tamper device was set then the charge went off prematurely. Crude but very very effective.

"How long should we set the timers for?" Zell asked.

"Ten minutes." Squall replied.

The three SEEDs walked back into the lab and then into the creature holding area. This time though the room was deathly quiet. As they looked around all the creatures save one were cowering in a corner of their cell.

The one creature was staring directly at Squall.

Squall locked eyes with the creature then froze. He heard something…a sibilant voice.

"Sssssquall." The voice called in his mind. "Ssssquall I know you hear my wordssss boy."

"Squall are you ok?" Zell shook Squall's arm roughly.

"Do you hear that?" Squall asked.

Both Zell and Irvine looked at Squall like he had just grown a second head.

"Hear what Squall?" Irvine asked. "It is totally silent in here."

But Squall was not listening. He was slowly walking towards the cage of the creature. His eyes still locked with the creatures. He stopped in front of the cage.

The creature was not particularly big or impressive. It had the general shape of an anacondour but it also four legs and a second head. It looked like an experiment gone awry.

"What are you?" Squall asked the creature.

" It issss not what I am boy. It issssss what I am not. I am not like any creature before. Nor will there be another like me. I have ssssensed your presence ssssssince you came here and in you I sssssesed a mind like my own. You block your emotionssssss. You feel they make you week in battle. I can help you. Thissssssss body issssss not my own. I have….borrowed it. Before you asssssssk. I do not ssssssseek to borrow yourssssssss. Your will issssss to strong. I could not take you like I could a beassssst. Nor do I wish to. I wish to aid you. To make you ssssssstronger."

"If this is not your body then why choose this one?" Squall asked. Beckoning to the other cages. There are many more impressive and powerful creatures here."

The voice replied. "I had a body once. It wasssssss truly powerful. It wassssss a mighty sssssssssserpantine body. Alassssss that body issss dead. Now I ssssssssearch for a body to live in again."

"Are you a guardian force?" Squall asked.

In a sssssssense. I have no corporeal form. Nor can I be called into battle. My asssssissstance would be indirect. You would find yoursssself sssssstronger, fassssster, more resssssisstant to fatigue and injury.

"There is a price to power." Squall said. "The price for a GF is memory. What is yours?"

The voice replied "My price? My price issssss simple. My price is to have a body to partner with. I would be with you at all times. Sssssssharing every moment. If you desssssssired I would not ssssspeak to you. If you desired ssssssomething left be I would not ssssspeak of it. That issssssss my only price boy. Do you accept?"

Squall considered a moment. "No." He said flatly. "My mind is my own. I share it with no creature." He turned his back on the cell and began to walk away but stopped when the voice sounded again.

"You will change your mind boy. You will need my assssssiissstance. When you do. All you need to do is ask."

Zell and Irvine were both staring at him.

"What?" Squall snapped.

"Have you been working too hard?" Zell asked. "You just stood there and talked to that thing."

"I'm fine." Squall snapped again. "Drop it."

Zell looked slightly hurt. "Sorry man."

Squall slapped Zell on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it Zell."

Zell brightened then his face fell again as the elevator began to move up.

"Oh crap." Irvine groaned. "This is not good."

Squall looked around the room. "There is no cover in here. We will have to fight."

Squall, Zell and Irvine moved to the middle of the room facing the elevator. Each man cast protect and shell on himself. Squall swung his gunblade a couple of times to loosen his shoulders. Irvine loaded his shotgun and his newly acquired machine gun.

"You cannot win thisssss fight without me boy." The voice said in Squall's head.

Squall shook his head a couple of times and focused on the elevator doors. The numbers were slowly climbing down as the elevator came closer and closer to the lab floor.

The ding of the elevator door was almost deafening. The doors opened and a dozen Galbadian soldiers spilled out and lined up in front of the seeds. As soon as they were clear the doors closed and the elevator went up again.

Irvine put his machinegun to his shoulder but before he could fire a red armored commander stepped forward.

"Don't throw away your lives SEED's." He said. "You might kill us but do you think you can cut through the defenses for the entire base? There are three dozen more men at the top of the elevator. Do the right thing and throw down your weapons."

"Like hell." Zell muttered as he started to run toward the formation.

"ZELL FREEZE!" Squall shouted. Zell skidded to a stop and looked up. Every Galbadian had their weapon trained on him. "Zell slowly walk back to us." Squall commanded. Zell walked backwards until he was in line with his friends.

"Irvine, unload both your weapons slowly and place them on the ground. Zell, lay flat on the ground and spread out your arms and legs. Do NOT be the hero."

Irvine had a scowl on his face as he ejected the magazine from his machinegun and pulled the charging handle back to eject the chambered round. He slowly bent and placed the gun on the ground. Then he broke the breach of his beloved Exeter and carefully removed the two pulse rounds. He bent again and placed the shotgun and the ammo on the ground. He then stepped away and mimicked Zell's position on the ground.

The commander nodded his head at Squall. "Now you sword boy."

Squall shook his head. His face and voice totally devoid of emotion. "I don't think so. Take my friends first, then you can have me."

The commander was taken aback for a moment. "Very well. Take them." He commanded his men. Indicating Zell and Irvine with his gun.

Squall stepped to the side and raised Lionheart to a high guard as he faced the soldiers. One soldier knelt by each man and dispelled his protections. Then roughly bound their hands behind them and stood them up. Frog marching them to the door.

Once again the commander turned to Squall. "Now you."

Squall simply nodded and dropped his gunblade and stepped away. Laying flat on the ground.

"You are wissssssse boy." The voice whispered in his head. "Though had we been partnered we could have taken them all."

Squall grunted as his hands were bound behind him and he was roughly brought to his feet.

The Commander smiled. "Thank you for your cooperation. He nodded at the man holding Squall. Bright lights exploded in Squall's vision as the soldier clubbed him with his gun. The last thing Squall saw as the ground came rushing to meet him was Zell and Irvine being subjected to the same treatment. Then he knew no more.

A gauntleted hand slapped Squall across the face. "Wake up SEED." A cultured voice purred. "The fun is just beginning."

Squall opened his eyes and tried to focus on the source of the voice. He tried to turn his head but found that it was tightly restrained.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice said. Squall's eyes focused finally and he was able to determine that he was firmly fastened to an upright table. His legs were spread and his arms stretched out to the sides and firmly shackled to the table. Even his waist was secured.

Squall's mind snapped into focus. There could only be one reason for a table like this. Torture. He noted that he had been stripped to his shorts.

"Bravo." The sickly sweet voice said. "It usually takes my patients much more time to realize their situation. The voice moved as it spoke and finally a woman walked into squalls field of view. The woman was medium height. She had a face that looked like it had been chiseled. A very prominent nose, wide and intelligent eyes and very close-cropped hair. She was incredibly slim and wore a white lab coat. The pockets were stuffed with things that Squall could only begin to guess.

"My name." She continued. "Is Doctor Eisley. As you have guessed we are here to determine what you know about our plans and to do whatever it takes to make sure those plans are not leaked." She snapped her fingers and a charcoal brazier was pushed in by a Galbadian soldier. The soldier bent and lit the coals then stepped back. Next the soldier brought out a hose. The hose seemed to be attached to the some point in the room. Water dripped slowly from the end. Finally the soldier came back several long pokers. These he laid to the side of the brazier. The room felt distinctly warmer as the brazier burned. Dr. Eisley nodded to the soldier and he laid the pokers one by one on the glowing coals.

"Now then." Dr. Eisley said. "Most people like to try to avoid these pleasantries. So why don't we start with something simple. Tell me your name."

Squall kept his mouth shut and stared straight ahead.

"Excellent." Dr. Eisley smiled. "I knew you would see it my way." She looked to the soldier. "He smells don't you think? Give him a bath." The soldier picked up the hose and pulled the handle.

Squall bit back a savage curse as he was sprayed head to toe with freezing water. He sputtered for a moment then resumed his dead man's stare.

Dr. Eisley's smile widened. She loved it when they resisted. It made it so much more fun. She looked to the brazier and saw that the pokers were glowing nicely. She put on a heat resistant glove and picked up one of the pokers. "Are you sure you wouldn't care to avoid this?" She said sweetly. Squall just stared. "No? Excellent."

She touched the poker to Squall's bottom rib.

Squall screamed. The pain was more intense than he could have possibly imagined. Dr. Eisley smiled and touched the poker to the next rib up. Smiling wider as Squall's scream took on a shrieking edge.

"Pleasant yes?" She nodded to the soldier who turned the ice water on squall again. Squall screamed again as his raw nerves were assaulted by the reverse sensations. It was almost as painful as the poker.

"Fuck you." Squall whimpered.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Eisley bent closer.

"I SAID FUCK YOU YOU SADISTIC WHORE!" Squall shouted as hard as he could.

"My my my such manners. Such language. Such…determination. Oh yes breaking you will be great fun indeed."

Squall screamed again as she applied a new poker to his ribs.

Dr. Eisley washed her hands and looked over at the pathetic shell that was the man that was Squall Leonheart. It had taken her four hours of the pokers to simply pry that out of him. Soon after he had passed out. She chuckled as she gathered her things. The man had more spirit than any of her other patients. This would be her greatest challenge. Oh well. Tomorrow she would turn it up a notch or two. She looked over to the soldier. His face was expressionless. He had been working for her for years now. Any squeamishness had long since been destroyed.

"Take him back to his cell." She commanded. Bring him back here tomorrow morning after breakfast."

Zell and Irvine sat bleakly in their cell. The Galbadians had never brought squall back and they feared the worst for their Commander.

"D'ya think he'll talk?" Zell asked Irvine.

"I doubt it." Irvine replied but you never know. "Enough torture and anybody will crack."

Zell shuddered. "Man the bastards will probably kill him. Then us."

"Shut up Zell. Those thoughts don't do us any good." Irvine replied wearily.

"In case you didn't notice Irvine. Positive thoughts don't seem to be bringing sunshine and rainbows either."

"Shut up in there." The guard shouted and opened the door, leveling his gun at the two men.

Dr. Eisley's assistant walked in dragging squall by the ankles after squall was in the room he walked out and the door was slammed shut.

"SQUALL" Both men shouted at once and rushed to their leaders side.

"Oh Hyne what did they do to him?" Zell asked.

"Looks like they burned him. And then burned him some more." Irvine replied.

"Squall. Hey Squall wake up." Zell tapped Squall's cheeks lightly.

Squall's eyes fluttered and focused on Zell and Irvine for a second. "Hey guys." Then his eyes slid shut again.

Irvine checked his pulse. "I'm no medic but it feels a lot lower than it should be. He is probably in shock. Grab that sheet over there and cover him."

"Got it. Zell replied." Gently covering Squall. "Do you think they will question us too?" He asked.

"Good question man. I wish I knew."

Both men lapsed into silence as Squall twitched and moaned in his sleep.

"Sssssquall. Ssssssquall lissssten to me boy." Squall's eyes opened. Yesssss lissssten well. They will continue to torture you boy. You are sssssstrong. Your sssssspirit powerful indeed. But you cannot fight them off again boy. You know thissssss to be true. And when they finish with you they will work on your friendsssssss. You need my help boy and I need yoursssssss. Remember well what I sssssay boy." The voice went silent.

Squall softly murmured to himself. "My mind is my own." Then he lapsed back into unconciousness.

"Good Morning Squall." Dr. Eisley said. "It is time for us to resume our little game.

Squall came to full consciousness with a scream as Dr. Eisley places a pair of forceps on either side of one of his blisters and squeezed with all her might. The blister burst with a small jet of pus and white blood cells and Squall went pale.

"Ah I see I have your attention now." Eisley sneered. "I thought we could start off the day nice and quick and see if I can get you talking before lunch. What do you say?"

"I…will…kill…you." Squall gasped.

"I'm glad you feel that way." Dr. Eisley smiled. She held out her hand and her assistant places a small cigarette lighter in her hand. Since you seemed to enjoy the burns so much I thought we could try a slightly different technique today."

Her assistant brought a small stool and she sat down next to Squall's left foot. "Scream when this starts to hurt."

She flicked the lighter on and held it under the arch of Squall's foot.

Squall's breath caught in his throat but he clenched his jaw shut. His foot was in agony. He couldn't take it anymore. He screamed. His raw throat protested but he could no more stop screaming than he could stop the pain in his foot. A distant part of his mind noted the slightly sweet smell of cooking flesh had turned bitter.

Dr. Eisley turned off the lighter. The arch of Squall's foot was blackened and cracked and steaming slightly. She stood up and sighed. You have forced my hand squall. She reached into her pocket and pulled out an empty hypodermic syringe.

She moved the stool closer to Squall. One last chance my brave SEED.

Squall's voice rasped but it was so raw he was unable to form any words.

"Very well." Eisley said. She nodded to her assistant and he stepped out. She flicked on the lighter and held the needle in the flame for a full minute. "If you think you felt pain before." She whispered. "You were sorely mistaken." She thrust the short stubby syringe into Squall's right eye.

Squall screamed anew. The sheer pain overriding his battered vocal cords. The fluids in his eye bubbled and boiled and after a moment his eye exploded dripping boiling blood and fluids down his face. Dr. Eisley quickly jerked his head free of the restraints and pulled it forward so the liquids dripped down his face instead of back into his brain. It had only taken one patient for her to learn that lesson.

The screaming lasted for minutes. Until Dr. Eisley brought a hot iron out and cauterized the socket. At that point the screaming stopped and squall was granted blissful darkness at last.

Dr. Eisley sat munching her sandwich. Watching as Squall twitched in his own private hell. She would miss this one. But he could not take much more. She conceded that his will could not be broken so she decided to settle for inflicting as much agony as she could before he died.

Squall whimpered as he awoke. His right eye would not open. He tried again and again. Then the memory of the past hour came rushing back to him as he saw Dr. Eisley. Calmly eating her lunch as if nothing had happened. Squall recoiled and let out a small cry as she stood up.

"No more." He croaked.

Her eyes widened. "You are finally ready to talk?"

"No more" Squall croaked again. He didn't even seem to realize she was there now.

"I can help you Ssssquall. Jussssst assssssk." The voice was Squall's sole focus. It had helped him. Kept his attention drawn from his tortures.

"Yes." Squall croaked. "Yes please."

Dr. Eisley smiled. She had done it. She had broken his will. It would be such a pleasure to break him down bit by bit until he was just a husk.

She licked her lips in anticipation. "Tell me everything." She commanded.

"Please help me." Squall croaked. "I ask you. I beg you. My mind is yours to share."

Dr. Eisley's eyes widened again. She rationalized however that he was in too much pain to be able to think clearly. She walked to her counter and filled another syringe with a painkiller that would not cloud his thoughts even more and turned back to him.

"You have chosen wisssely Ssssquall. Clear your mind and close your eye. Instruct your Guardians to go to your friends. I will be with you soon."

Squall closed his eye. Tears streaming down his left cheek. "Thank you." He whispered. He instructed his Guardians to go to Zell and Irvine. They protested but realized it was his only chance. He felt a new presence enter his mind. "Thank you." He whispered again.

"We are one now. And I ssshall help you my friend. For I am now you and my survival tied to yours. I am Allissssstar. I am your mind brother. Now let usssss get revenge for what they have done to you."

"Thank you." Squall said once more.

Dr. Eisley smiled again as she approached. She must have broken him even further than she thought. She decided to let him keep his illusion. "Your welcome." She murmured kindly.

Then Squall's eye opened and she stopped dead in her tracks as it locked with hers. That was not the eye of a broken man. There was not a word for the emotions raging through that eye. But fear rooted her to her place. Then Squall smiled at her. She felt a warm trail of urine trickle down her leg. She felt the most irrational fear of him. But why? He was bound. He was a broken thing. He was restrained in such a way that no man could break free. Yet there he was and here she was. Wetting herself. Terrified of this broken thing.

"With me now." Alistar said in his mind. Focus all your attention on one arm and pull. Break free of these pathetic bonds. Exact your revenge.

Squall grunted and focused every fiber of his being on his right arm. He commanded it to pull. And it did.

Dr. Eisley gasped, as the shackle holding his right arm began to whine as metal was forced in ways it was not meant to go. With a spang the hinge of the shackle popped free and squalls arm was loose. She finally managed to move. She ran outside and jumped behind her guard shrieking incoherently into his hear.

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "What is it Doctor?" He said slowly "What is wrong?"

She pulled franticly at his hands. "Prisoner…eyes…mad…escape…let go." She pulled free and ran as fast as she could down the hall.

The soldier opened the door and saw Squall writhing against his bonds. His right arm and both legs were free. He was only secured by his waist and his left arm now. The guard ran down the hall to the arms locker and pulled out his assault rifle.

Squall hissed and growled. He knew exactly what needed doing. The Galbadians must pay. For him. And for the others that were strapped to this table. For the animals downstairs. With a final grunt his left arm came free. And he focused his attention on his waist restraint. The metal begin to shriek as he pulled on one end.

The soldier ran back into the room. Impossible. The prisoner had broken himself free. The soldier regained his composure and leveled his rifle at Squall's head and pulled the trigger.

Just as he did Squall broke his waist restraint and dropped to the floor. The bullets hit where Squall had just been. The soldier didn't get another shot though. One second Squall was on his knees the next he plowed into the solder. The rifle was pulled from the man's grasp and sent flying. The panicked soldier flailed at squalls head and neck, trying to dislodge the crazed SEED.

Squall ignored the blows raining on his head. He cocked his fist and slammed it into the Galbadian man's trachea. The blows stopped immediately and the man clutched his throat. Desperately trying to inhale. Squall stood. Gazing down at the man. He turned his back and walked down the hall. Leaving the man to die.

He was a hunter now. And his prey still needed catching. Inside his mind Alistar radiated his approval.

A/N I have already started working on my next chapter. Once again I apologize for my tardiness in this latest chapter.

Review as always

Mike


	5. Escape

A/N I realize there are major inconsistencies between this chapter and chapters one, two and three. A big one being my not mentioning that Squall has been brutally battered. I intend to go back in fix that. For now I would love if you would just pretend that I had already. It makes it much easier.

Squall stepped back into the room of torture. His entire body went ridged as he laid eyes on the table. The table on which the most horrific events of his young life had taken place. He felt the back of his neck prickle and he fought hard to keep his anger in check.

"There will be revenge for you my friend." Alistar spoke in his head. "Their blood shall flow"

Squall licked his lips then winced and caught the edge of the desk as his anger faded and the pain from his foot flooded back. He spied the gore encrusted syringe on the floor. His hand went to his right eye. Trying to prove his memories wrong. To make it all a dream. It wasn't. There was no eye. Just crusted blood. As the memory became vivid in his head the pain from his injuries intensified.

"FOCUSSSSS." Alistar snapped in is head. "You must focusss on your tassssk."

Squall closed his eyes and pictured his enemy. Dr. Eisley. He pictured the look of terror on her face when Alistar had come to his aid. Slowly his pain was forced away. His vision cleared. He gingerly placed his weight on his scorched foot. The pain was gone.

"Can you heal my eye?" He asked.

"No." The voice hissed apologetically. "I can make you forget you losssst it. Even allow you to ssssssee without it. Better than when you had it. But there issss a limit to what I can regenerate. The eye issss too complex."

"What about the other injuries?" Squall said.

"Until sssssuch time that you can resssst for many days I will be unable to heal your woundsssss. Even your para-magic will not work. My resssissstancesss to it are high. In our state I am unable to determine what issss beneficial and what isssss not. You musssst save what strength you have to esssscape thissss place.

Squall stepped into the hall once more. His eyes fell on Dr. Eisley's assistant. Squall remembered the man's expressionless stare as she took his eye. He felt his rage building again. He fought it. Harnessed it until needed. He took grim satisfaction in the expression of agony on the soldier's face. His skin pale as wax, his lips blue his eyes bulging in the sockets. The classic signs of very painful death by asphyxiation. Squall walked on.

"Why am I so consumed by my anger?" Squall asked no one in particular as he walked down the brightly lit bare hallway.

"It isssss the only fuel we have." Came Alistar's quiet reply. "Your fear issss too sssstrong. You could not harnesssss it now. Ssssso I ssssimply block it. Your body issss too weak for us to become detatched from the emotionssss you should be feeling. Sssso you must only concentrate on what will make you sssstrong enough to…

"What is it?" Squall asked.

"Humanssss approach. Three of them."

Squall ducked into a nearby door and found himself in a bare office. The desk and shelves were empty. Nothing to use as a weapon.

"They look for you." Alistor hissed. "The Doctor has triggered an alarm.

At the mention of the Doctor Squall bared his teeth and hissed loudly. He left the door slightly ajar and placed his back to the wall on the hinge side. His hands braced to catch the door should it open.

"They are carelesssssss. They do not believe her." Alistar whispered in Squall's head. "Two have gone ahead one holds back. Sssstrike as he passes.

Boots thumped as two of the Galbadians jogged by the door. The third man slowly brought up the rear. Squall silently through his nose. He smelled the sweat of the man. He was tired. Out of shape. He could hear his labored breathing. The soldier's boots slowly thumped past the door.

Squall stepped to the other side of the doorframe and slowly eased it open. The soldier was totally unaware of the door's movement and his first sign of danger was a hand closing over the collar of his shirt. The Galbadian was too surprised to make a sound as he was flung into the tiny office. The cheaply made desk shattered as he was flung into it. The noise was completely lost in the loud thumping of combat boots down the hall.

Squall turned to the man lying in the wreckage of the desk. The throw had been harder than he had intended but the job was done regardless. Unfortunately for him the man had been knocked out. Squall slapped the man across the face.

"What the…" The Galbadian's curse died as an iron hand fastened itself around his throat.

"I will ask this once." Squall growled. "Where is the equipment of the SEED's that were captured?" His hand loosened slightly and the man reflexively inhaled.

"I..its in the main detention area in the arms locker." The man sputtered.

"And where is that?" Squall asked.

The soldier's mind froze. He knew that he should fight, scream do something soldierly. But he wasn't a soldier. He was a desk clerk. He was covering for a friend today. He wanted to live.

"It is t…three levels up. You will need a c…card to open the e…elevator door. I…it is on my be..belt." He slowly unhooked the card from his belt and set it next to him. "I promise not to make any noise, just please, please don't hurt me." He begged.

The iron hard grip on his throat loosened a fraction and began to lift. The soldier closed his eyes hoping the man would take his card and go. Then the fingers paused. They tightened. They tightened impossibly…his breath caught in his throat he felt an unbelievable agony in his throat as the fingers closed behind something. He flailed weakly at the prisoner's face tried to plead, beg anything. He felt a sharp tug and he heard a wet ripping sound. Agony blossomed and his next sensation was warm and wet. As his vision faded he saw the prisoner stand and throw his trachea on his chest.

Squall leaned over and picked up the keycard out of the slowly spreading puddle of blood and walked to the door. He listened intently for a moment, hearing nothing he stepped out and jogged up the hall. Minutes later he arrived at the elevator. The scanner read through the blood without a problem and the elevator doors silently opened. Squall stepped inside and pressed the button marked "DETENTION LEVEL" the Galbadians never were good at being discreet. His smirk died however as he realized that the Galbadians all knew the things that went on in bases like these.

The numbers quickly climbed to three and the doors slid open. The room was spacious with several lockers and shelves along the wall. The main desk was the dominant object in the room. It faced away from the Elevator doors towards the cellblock. A bank of monitors showed the inside of every cell.

Squall noted the lone guard had his feet propped up on the desk and was reading from a Magazine. He didn't even look up as the doors closed.

"That you Jashain?" The man inquired to his magazine. "Was it a false alarm or what?" The guard turned around and sputtered in surprise. He had never seen the new prisoners, he had been off shift when they were brought in. All he saw was a battered man. His mind hardly registered the burns on the man's chest. All he could focus on was the empty eye socket. "Good Hyne. What happened to you man?" He scrambled out of his chair and over to Squall.

Squall noted that the man was trying to help him. That his machinegun was dangling by its sling. He allowed the well-meaning desk guard to assist him over to the chair. Then he stopped. The guard stopped with him and Squall looked him in the eye. The guard winced as he looked close into his face. He averted his gaze and found himself looking at Squall's chest. Then his mind registered the burns. Burns like…Dr. Eisley…used. His hand went for his gun but Squall's hand got there first. The guard felt the cold metal of the barrel under his chin. He didn't even know when he was dead.

Squall finished emptying the magazine into the guard's head. By now the entire top of the skull was gone, leaving him covered with fragments of bone and brain matter. He let the body and drop and began opening the various lockers.

"Zell!" Irvine spoke quietly but urgently as he shook Zell. "Zell wake up." He swore softly. Zell could sleep through a stampede if he wanted to especially when it was warm and dark like the cell was. He had been jolted out of his bed by the sound of Machinegun fire. Then it had all stopped. He had heard a thump and a few clicking and creaking noises but nothing else. He gave up and slapped Zell as hard as he could.

Zell's eyes opened slowly and he yawned. "What's up man?"

"Something's going on." Irvine hastily explained the past couple minutes to Zell.

Zell sat bolt upright and rolled off the top bunk. Both men froze as they heard boots moving toward their cell. Not like the heavy boots of the Galbadian soldiers. Lighter ones. The door opened and light flooded in. Both men shied away from the bright glare, shielding their eyes with their hands and cursing loudly. After several seconds they opened their eyes again, then froze as they recognized the face of their commander.

Zell's mind grappled with the shock. Squall's face was barely recognizable. The right side was badly burned and swollen. Then there was the eye. Or lack of it. He couldn't drag his eyes away from that empty socket. There was no lid just an open socket. Zell retched…he forced his gaze away to Irvine who was faring no better.

Squall finally interrupted them. "We need to go. We need to go now." He said simply.

In his mind Alistar spoke. "They ssssshy away. Why do they do thissss? Are you not their friend?"

"They're in shock." Squall said softly. "They didn't expect anything like this."

"Squall…what happened?" Irvine asked cautiously.

Squall's face hardened and he tossed Irvine his shotgun and Zell his gloves then turned his back.

Irvine scrambled after him with Zell on his heels.

"Squall your Guardian Forces. What are they doing with us?" Zell asked.

Stony silence was his only reply as Squall sat down at the desk and tapped commands into the computer. A minute later he looked up. "We are five floors down from the main level. From there it is not very far to where we came in. If we move fast we should be able to get out of here before the guards realize we are not in the base anymore."

Zell grabbed his arm. "Squall what the hell happened to you?"

Squall's single eye widened and his body tensed again as he wrestled the demons. He breathed deeply. "You don't want to know Zell and I won't tell you. At least…not now. Our first priority is to get out of here." He turned to a locker and opened it. "I found some party favors." His lips twitched in what was almost a smile.

Irvine's eyes lit up. The locker was stocked with Sub machineguns, assault rifles, ammo and grenades. Irvine pulled an assault rifle from the locker and loaded it. Zell took a step back when Irvine turned and held the weapon out to him.

"Whoa man I don't know how to use this." Zell feebly tried to push the weapon away.

"Its Easy Zell." Irvine said slowly. "Don't point it at anything you don't want dead. When it is empty just drop it and use your fists. If we have time I will reload it for you." Irvine shoved magazines and shotgun shells into his pockets.

Squall leaned past him and took several grenades. Zell did the same.

"Let's go." Squall said as he walked to the elevator. Zell and Irvine walked in and stood in front of him. "Blocking me." He said to himself. "I don't blame them either. He spoke quietly. "How are we doing?" He asked himself.

"It isssss not good." Alistar hissed. "I am amazed you have gone this far. Your leg comes closssser and clossssser to complete collapssssse. I believe I can keep you going for no longer than three or four hoursssss."

Squall nodded as the elevator doors opened and the three walked on.

Dr. Lorena Eisley frantically searched through the archive trying to find the data on the genetics research she had been doing in the installation. She was running. It was an alien feeling for her. She had run when she was a child. When the bullies would taunt her and pull her hair. But she was past that. Now she made men like them blubber like babies with just a glare and a few choice words. But her latest subject…She had known who Squall Leonheart was. Who didn't? He and his team had only saved the world but that earned him no special treatment in her book. She firmly believed she could break any human alive. But the way that he had resisted her. It wasn't normal. Most of her subjects had tried to go into their own little world. Few succeeded. Those that did couldn't maintain their illusion for more than a few minutes. But Squall had not gone into a world. It was like he only felt the pain but did not register why. Oh it was plain to see he knew he was being tortured. But he had refused to yield, or try give information bit by bit. He just sat there and took it all. And it scared her.

"Damn it." She cursed as another error message popped up, saying the information was unavailable. "Sergeant." She called out. "Send a tech down to the lab database and find out what is wrong with it."

"Yes Ma'am." The soldier scurried off.

Dr. Eisley changed tracks. She looked into the security camera logs. Those were kept separate from the rest of the database. She pulled up the recording of three hours ago. She watched as she approached Leonheart with the needle. The surprise in his eyes was genuine. The agony on his face was sheer beauty. She fast forwarded an hour to where he regained consciousness. She zoomed in. There was fear in his face. There was defiantly fear in his eye. She watched him pleading. There was no explainable reason for his sudden defiance. He should have been a totally broken shell.

She smiled grimly. Defiant or not he would defiantly fear her. He might not fear her now. But he would always fear that memory. Her soft chuckle was interrupted by the buzzing of the phone.

"Dr. Eisley." She answered.

"Ma'am this is Technician Horus. The mainframe for the lab computers has been destroyed. The automatic defense matrix and the backup database. The SEEDs got all of it."

She bit back a savage curse and slammed down the phone. It was time to go. She got up and quickly walked to the vehicle bay. She had an armored carrier waiting for her with her notes and hard copy reports of her work. She didn't know if Leonheart was looking for her and she did not intend to be here regardless. She boarded the carrier and waited for the driver to board. The sooner she was off this rock and back in civilization the better.

Irvine took point. He kept his shotgun pointed down the hall his finger resting on the trigger. There were no friendlies in this place. He had no worries of shooting the wrong person. They were behind him. Zell's gun was hanging by its sling. Irvine was privately very glad. Zell might have some of the fasted reflexes he had ever seen but damned if he could turn them off and it would only take one time for him to shoot him in the back on accident. Squall was another story. Everything about him was different. He couldn't put his finger on it. He knew Squall should be unconscious and being carried out of here right now. But he wasn't. He tried to hide it but Irvine saw the look of pain that flashed in his eye every time he took a step.

The group made a right turn into a familiar passageway. Up ahead they saw a dull light from a hole in the ceiling. It was the exit. The group instinctively picked up the pace and mounted the stairs eager to be in fresh air again.

The seeds spilled into the open air again. Though the island was still bleak and unwelcoming it seemed much friendlier now.

A loud whine pierced the quiet air as a heavy engine powered up. The three men turned as Dr. Eisley's personal carrier kicked up a line of dust as it sped toward the coast.

"She escapesssss usssss." Alistar hissed angrily.

A deafening howl of rage cut through the fading engine noise. Squall looked around trying to find the source and stopped when he saw Zell and Irvine watching him intently.

"Yo Squall man. What's up? Zell asked.

Squall shook his head. "Nothing. Lets go."

Dr. Eisley's eyes widened as she saw the three prisoners standing by the back door. So that was how they came in. She felt a surge of triumph. She walked forward to the pilot compartment.

"Radio the base commander." She snapped.

"Yes ma'am." The co-pilot fiddled with his controls a moment. "Base commander on the line ma'am."

Dr. Eisley snatched the headset from the co-pilot. "Colonel. The prisoners are escaping through the rear testing entrance. I want them all dead."

"Yes ma'am." The base commander replied. He pushed a button. "Cowardly bitch." He grunted. "Lieutenant get a reinforced bot squad over there now."

"Yes sir." The young officer replied. "Who should I designate for reinforcement?"

"No one. We are not risking any more men on these lunatics. If they get through then it serves the bitch right."

The SEEDs walked towards the coast and their extraction. Irvine and Zell were on the flanks their machineguns aimed at the hills on either side of them. Squall walked in the middle his eyes slowly sweeping ahead of them, Lionheart resting on his shoulder. The pain in his left foot was lancing up his leg now and it was becoming harder to keep the pace. The burns on his ribs were rubbing against his shirt. At least one of the blisters had ruptured and he was trying not to even think of his eye.

Squall pushed the thoughts away. He was already building a mental wall around the events of the past twenty four hours. Alistar had been right about the fear. When He had seen Eisley's transport zooming past them he had tried to ignore the icy feeling that began in his gut and worked its way up his spine. He had not felt it before but he felt it now. It was there. Fear. Pure and simple fear. Fear of waking up and being on that table again. He had hoped that the others had not noticed the edge of terror in is cry of frustration and hate. Squall closed his eye and willed the thoughts away. "Whatever." He said softly. Somehow it didn't comfort him.

A bolt of lightning split the cloudy sky somewhere out to sea. A moment later the rolling drum crack of thunder was heard and then faded.

The SEED's paused as the rumble began again. This time it seemed to surround them. Squall perked up as another memory came to the surface. It was not of the table. No. This time it was a memory of running. With a deafening rumble behind him. The rumble of something with multiple legs giving chase. His breath caught in his throat. There was more than one. He froze just as an X-ATM092 crested the hill on either side of the SEED's. With them came six blue clad Galbadian soldiers per bot. Some carried guns and some carried swords.

"DOWN!" Zell and Irvine shouted at the same time.

The X-ATM092s leveled their miniguns at the SEEDs and opened fire. The ground on either side of the SEEDs erupted in dust and rock fragments as the bots tried to lower their guns to hit the SEED's. A moment later the guns whirred to a stop as the ammo belts ran dry. At the same time the twelve soldiers caught up and charged down the hill.

Zell gulped and leveled his machinegun at the charging soldiers. Irvine's crash course on shooting ran through his head too fast to remember so he aimed at the soldier on the left and slowly swept the gun to the right. To his complete surprise it worked. Three of the soldiers went down. None dead. Zell noted. But at least down for a minute while they got their breath back. Zell dropped the empty gun and went into his fighting stance.

Irvine Fired his gun in short bursts knocking down two soldiers and killing one. He knew he was hitting the soldiers in places that there should be just cloth. "Armor." He mused softly. Then his eyes widened. "ZELL THEY ARE ARMORED! WATCH YOURSELF!" He cried. The three Galbadians charged him and the battle was joined.

Time had slowed down for Squall. He couldn't get up. He watched in slow motion as Zell and Irvine fired into the charging groups. He heard Irvine's shouted warning but it seemed like he was almost frozen in time. "Get up." He commanded himself. Get up you weakling." His tortured foot and body screamed in protest. His eye socked throbbed and pulsed with every move. He was barely able to move his arms or his good leg. "GET UP!" HE shouted at himself.

"Weakling." The voice was quiet in his head. Squall strained to hear it. "You are a SSSSEEEED. More like a child." Alistar berated him. "Your comradesssss fight for you. They fight with fury. For you. Yet you lie there. A ssssickly lamb waiting for sssslaughter." Squall's face contorted with fury. "Fight it. Alistar hissed. "You do not need me to defeat simple pain." With that Alistar abandoned all attempts at blocking the pain from Squall's Injuries. "Get up. You are a hunter. Your prey awaitsssss."

Squall saw Zell take a slash to his arm. The soldier followed up with an elbow to the temple and the blonde fighter crumpled. Irvine's shotgun was empty and he was using it to desperately parry sword strikes

The scream was never meant to be uttered by a mortal throat. Every eye on the battlefield turned to Squall as he planted Lionheart's tip in the ground and used it to lever himself to his feet. The anger flashed in his eye and then left. Leaving an absolute calm. A calm before the storm. Lightning flashed again and the rain began to fall.

"Well done." Alistar congratulated him. "Now dessssstroy them all.

Squall struck. It was not enough to say that he moved quickly. He flowed like liquid death. The world felt like it was moving in slow motion around him. A Galbadian swordsman swung overhand at his neck. As he did the others abandoned Zell and Irvine to rush Squall. It didn't matter a bit. Squall swung his gunblade not to parry the strike. But to strike himself. The soldier froze and screamed as he found a gunblade buried in his chest. Squall let go of Lionheart and turned to face the next man to die. The soldier frantically raised his machinegun and fired at empty air. His world went black as his head suddenly faced the exact opposite direction. Squall ducked a wild swing at his head and reached back. Feeling lionheart's familiar grip he ripped it out of the dead Galbadian and swung it at his attacker's knees. The Galabadian's attempted jump was far too slow and squall was covered in even more viscera as the soldier's feet came off at the ankles. Squall swung again as he fell cleaving through the head and spinning up to his feet. He brought lionheart up to a high guard and thrust straight forward. Running a charging gunner through the throat. The soldier's hands convulsed in death and the gun barked hateful message. Squall tried to throw himself backwards but knew it was a futile attempt. The bullets spanged away an inch from his chest leaving a ripple of blue light. Squall knew either Zell or Irvine must have cast protect on him but he could not spare the time to thank him. The next soldier was ready to die.

Irvine lowered his hand from casting the protect spell. He was baffled at Squall's speed. He was having trouble keeping track of his moves. It didn't matter though. The result was as obvious as the soldier with his head on backwards. Irvine flinched involuntarily as two Swordsmen charged from either side of Squall. Protect would not stop that kind of attack and the soldiers knew it. Squall Dropped Lionheart and tackled the man to his right from the waist. Irvine's eyes widened as Squall's questing hand slid into the soldiers gut as easily as his gunblade. He Saw the soldier convulse as Squall ripped out something and flung it at the other soldiers face. The other Galbadian was slow on the uptake and didn't even see his companion's stomach until it hit him in the face. He recoiled and dropped his sword clawing frantically at his face. When his vision cleared he saw Squall calmly standing in front of him. The soldier panicked and scampered back but could not outrun Squall's questing fist. The soldier gurgled as his ribcage collapsed in on his vital organs. Irvine opened his mouth to shout a warning as a swordsman tried to spear squall in the back but the warning died on his tongue as Squall pivoted in place and smacked the blade out of his assailant's hand. The soldier turned and fled as fast as he could. The remaining ground soldiers took the hint and fled also. Irvine looked up. The crews of the X-ATM092s must have been watching rather than reloading because even after their field of fire had cleared nothing happened for several seconds.

With an audible ka-chunk both bots turned their guns toward the now sprinting Squall.

Squall had no idea what was going on but he wasn't about complain now and he defiantly was not going to leave Irvine and Zell in the field of fire of the X-ATM092s. He sprinted as fast as he could straight towards the closer of the two machines. Both sets of miniguns opened fire almost simultaneously. Squall dove straight forward and slid between the legs of the spider like robot just as its partner's armor piercing rounds began to riddle the crew area. The machine went limp as its controllers died and Squall took cover behind its corpse.

The second X-ATM092 charged toward Squall intent to squash him flat until a pair of pulse shells hit it at close range. The machine was knocked to the side and narrowly missed Squall as he dashed back to the center of the field and his beloved gunblade.

Irvine reloaded as fast as he could. Super speed or not an X-ATM092 was nothing to take lightly. He closed the breach of his shotgun as Squall skidded to a stop beside him. Gunblade in hand.

Squall looked around. "Where is Zell?" He asked.

A loud thump answered him and he looked up. Zell had pried the crew compartment open and thrown every grenade he had inside. As Zell leapt clear the magazine exploded. Blowing the fighter clear over Squall and Irvine's heads. Both men sighed with relief as Zell sprung back to his feet with a huge grin on his face.

Squall looked at his friends. His face a mask as always. "That was fun. He said. But next time if you two wanted to jump in sooner that would be great." Squall smirked as Irvine and Zell looked at him like he was insane. Then both men began to laugh.

Squall let them have their fun as he felt the strength from Alistar leave him. The pain remained a constant but not the agony it once was.

"What was that?" He asked quietly.

"Guardian forcessssss lend their bodiessssss in combat." Alistar replied. "Instead of taking form I manifesssssted a portion of my power in you. The longer we ssssstay together the greater that power can become. There is a price however. Not to you. But to me. I cannot manifest with you often. Nor will I be able to for ssssome time. I must rest as any guardian would. Squall nodded in understanding. I will resssst for sssseveral hours. My awarenesssss will be minimal. I will try to dull your pain but my original estimate remains. Perhaps another hour.

Squall walked over to Irvine and Zell. "Let's go." He said simply. Their moment of levity was done as they realized that they were not out of here yet.

Squall looked up at the sound of engines. It was not another X-ATM092. It was a much friendlier noise. The Kangaroo passed overhead and banked back around slowly settling itself down a few dozen yards away. Squall tried to stand and screamed in agony as his left foot gave out beneath him. Irvine and Zell looked up shocked and rushed over to help him up.

"Can ya walk man?" Zell asked.

Squall shook his head and Irvine and Zell Silently bore him down the beach.

Nida stood at the grinning. His grin disappeared as soon as he saw Squall's face. "Good Hyne what happened?" He ran down the ramp to relieve Irvine of his side.

Squall remained deathly silent as the last of his energy left him. The mission was over. But there was no relief for him. Alistar was still resting in his head. Nida was attempting to get answers out of him as he put a dressing over Squall's mangled face. Squall hissed in pain as Nida swabbed the burns on his cheek with ointment but other than that kept quiet.

"Hey Nida, not that it isn't great to See you man but where is Selphie?" I didn't think she'd let anybody but me touch this ship." Zell asked cheerfully.

Nida kept his face neutral. "Cid forbade Selphie or any of the others to come get you. He didn't say why." He pulled Zell aside. What happened to Squall?

Zell filled Nida in everything he knew.

"And he won't talk?" Nida asked.

Zell shook his head. "Whatever it was it scared him good. That's all I know."

Irvine came up from berths. "He is asleep. Whatever happened defiantly is still fresh. He is already having nightmares." He took a deep breath. "Lets go home."

The Ragnarok lifted into the sky and sped off in the direction of Fisherman's Horizon.

A/N There ya go. A nice big chapter to hold ya'all off for the holidays. I'm not super fond of how I had to end this chapter but it was getting late and I wanted to update. Though I would love to know what you guys think about the Squall/Alistar bond. And everything else for that matter. The fight scene was fun though. So review folks. Review and maybe just maybe I will work on this thing while I am home. No promises though. I'm defiantly not done with this story.

Happy holidays people.


	6. Homecoming

Cid sat at the communication panel in Balamb Garden's main control center. He had insisted that everyone leave except for the crew on duty. He was anxiously awaiting a report from Nida. He had been sitting here for over an hour and nothing. Nida should have contacted him by now. Should have…

The chime of an incoming message made Cid jump. His hands shaking he switched the signal to his headset. Nida's voice sounded tinny in the headset.

"Balamb Control this is Ragnarok. We are entering extreme approach range and requesting instructions."

"Ragnarok this is Headmaster Cid. You are cleared for approach. Requesting final mission status." Cid replied.

"Certainly Headmaster." Nida said.

Cid's hands clenched around the headset and his face grew pale as he received the report.

"Ragnarok your ETA is three zero minutes. You are cleared to land. Welcome home."

Cid got up before Nida could answer and beckoned to the young SEED standing by the door.

"You may have your seat back Miss Nielson." Sid smiled.

"Thank you headmaster." The young girl sat down and slipped her headset on. Guiding the Ragnarok into Balamb's hangar.

Cid quickly bustled to his office and dialed the Infirmary. "Dr. Kadowski. Ragnarok is on final approach with injured aboard. A medical team is needed in the main hanger."

"Certainly headmaster. We will be there shortly." The doctor answered and hung up.

Cid stood and straightened his vest. Now for the hard part.

Rinoa sat in the cafeteria with Selphie, Quistis and Angela (the library girl with pigtails a.k.a. Zell's girl.) The four were eating lunch and chatting amiably. Quistis was doing her best to keep the topic of conversation on something cheerful but it was difficult. Everything she brought up seemed to remind the other three of their SEED on a mission. Each of the girls currently seemed lost in their own world and Quistis was on the verge of giving up.

Headmaster Cid stepped through the door to the cafeteria and took a deep breath. He straightened his vest one more time and tried to make his stride look slow and easy as he walked toward the four downcast girls. As he approached Quistis looked up at him.

"Hello Headmaster." She said in faux cheerful voice."

Almost as one the heads of the three girls snapped up to focus on him.

"Hello instructor, ladies." Cid replied with a smile. I have good news. The Ragnarok is on final approach. She should be touching down in…

"YIPPEEEEEE." Selphie squealed as she bolted out of her seat and nearly tackled Cid. "How long how long how long?"

"Selphie let the headmaster breathe." Quistis quietly admonished. Selphie let go with a slightly sheepish look and took a step back. Cid straightened his glasses and smiled.

"The Ragnarok should be touching down in the main hangar in about ten minutes. Rinoa. If you could spare a moment I would like to speak with you."

If Rinoa heard his request she gave no sign as She, Selphie and Angela bolted from the cafeteria and headed for the Hangar.

Quistis placed a hand on Cid's shoulder. "Is something wrong headmaster?"

Cid nodded. "There were complications during the mission. Squall was seriously wounded. I wanted to give Rinoa warning."

"Quistis' face paled slightly. "How bad is it?"

Cid shook his head. "It is bad. Not fatal but bad enough to warrant a medical team. I may need your help if Rinoa tries to board the ship before the team does. Squall is apparently in a light coma. Now let us go. I have a feeling we will both be needed in a minute.

Cid and Quistis entered the hangar as the Ragnarok made her final approach and slowly moved through the hangar doors. The noise was near deafening and Rinoa flashed Cid a worried look and her eyes shifted to the waiting medical team.

Ragnarok touched down and the engines slowly powered down. The medical team immediately made its way to the front of the ship as the main ramp slowly lowered. The three girls hot on their heals.

As the ramp touched the ground two figures were seen. Both immediately recognizable. One by his tattered cowboy hat. The other by his spiky hairstyle and distinctive tattoo. Both men beckoned the medical team up the ramp.

Rinoa stood rooted to her place, her face a deathly pallor. Both Zell and Irvine exchanged words with Doctor Kadowaki and then slowly walked down the ramp. Both men were limping slightly from their recently healed wounds.

Selphie and Angela screamed in joy and charged their men. Zell swayed hard but stayed on his feet but Irvine was knocked on his back by the force of Selphie's charge.

Rinoa swayed slowly on her feet and jumped when Quistis placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He is alright Rinoa." Quistis said softly.

"How can you be so sure?" Rinoa asked tearfully.

At that moment the medical team re-appeared at the top of the ramp. Zell and Irvine quickly moved out of the way and headed toward the headmaster. Cid waved them on with cheerful orders to go to their quarters and not come out for at least twelve hours. Both men left the hangar with smiles on their faces.

The Medical team slowly carried a stretcher down the ramp. The form on the stretcher was completely still and a bandage was wrapped around both of his eyes.

Rinoa let out a choked sob and tried to run forward but came to an abrupt halt, finding herself being held back by Quistis.

"Let me go Quistis. I have to see him. LET ME GO."

Quistis held on resolutely. "Calm down Rinoa. Please for his sake." As the team reached the bottom of the ramp Quistis let Rinoa get closer. Still holding her arm firmly.

Squall's face had not borne the brunt of his injures well. The entire right side of his face was swollen and bruised. The left side was pale as wax, the rest of his body was covered by a sheet.

Rinoa tried to ask the doctor what was wrong with him but she pushed by her and led the team at a brisk pace to the infirmary. Quistis gently took Rinoa by the shoulder and led her behind the medical team to the waiting room where Rinoa broke down in sobs. Quistis tried her best to comfort her but it was little use to Rinoa.

Several hours later Dr. Kadowaki opened the door to the waiting room. Rinoa was sleeping against Quistis who looked like she was trying her hardest to stay awake. Dr. Kadowaki stepped into the room and pulled a chair around to face the two women. Quistis nudged Rinoa who sat up and stiffened when she saw Dr. Kadowaki.

"He is alright." Dr. Kadowaki assured her. But he is badly hurt."

"How badly?" Quistis asked.

"He has lost a lot of blood. He has second degree burns over every one of his ribs and a third degree burn on the arch of his right foot." The Doctor took a deep breath and looked directly at Rinoa. He has also lost his right eye and right eyelid."

"Wha…how…what happened?" Rinoa stammered.

He is in no condition to tell anyone anything but his eye socket was burned badly. If I had to say anything I would say torture.

Silence met her statement so the Doctor continued. "He is in what seems to be a minor coma. His vital signs are weaker than I would like but stable. You can see him now."

Trembling, Rinoa stood and slowly walked into the dark room. The only sounds came from the beeping monitors next to Squall's bed. Squall himself was covered from the neck down by a sheet and his face mostly covered by a bandage, his breath was coming at a slow but regular interval.

Rinoa sat in the chair by the bed and took Squall's hand in hers. Overcome by the day's events she lowered her face to the mattress and quietly wept.

Dr. Kadaowaki walked in an hour later to find Rinoa sleep, still clutching Squall's hand. She took a blanket from the rack by the wall and draped it around her. Then silently left the room.

A/N

Hi all. I bet you thought I had given up on the story. Well I hadn't. However this part has been very very hard to write. Still I apologize for taking so long to update. Especially for updating with such a short crappy chapter. I hate this one. I have pretty much decided that I will not be doing a whole lot of dialogue from the POV for Quistis, Rinoa or Selphie. Ok that being said. I need some help here. First thing you can do is review. I don't care if it is just to say that you hate this chapter too. However the more feedback I get the more inclined I am to write. Simple as that. Second. You guys will love this part. I need ideas. Short term ideas. Stuff to fill in some blanks I have. Email me with any you might have. I will gladly give you credit for whatever you suggest if I decide to use it. Finally. If anybody can give me some tips on how to write a dialogue that does not suck. I would love you for….five minutes. Maybe ten.

I have something of an Idea for my next chapter but ideas are welcome for it too.

Oh yes and finally.

Thanks to Hassun, Dante, SDL and Steve for reviewing the last chapter. Especially Hassun for his input on every chapter I write and Steve for badgering me to update. (Yes that works. If you badger me I will write. Promise)

Until then remember that when in doubt simply threaten the nearest person to you with a painful death.

Note the author does not actually want you to threaten people. That leads to bad things as the author knows first hand.


	7. Recovery

Zell hummed tunelessly as he wandered the halls Balamb Garden. Angela had left for the library an hour ago and he was slowly making his way to the cafeteria. He grinned to himself as he remembered her frantic attempts to get dressed before she was late. How that shirt had gotten tangled in the ceiling fan, he didn't even want to know. His smile died as the memories from the past two days came back. On a whim he turned the corner into the clinic.

Dr. Kadowaki looked up from her papers as the doors to the waiting room hissed open. A smile lit her face as Zell walked into the room.

"Good morning Mr. Dincht. I trust you are not here to have another Grat vine removed from your legs." She teased.

Zell scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Geez Doc. That only happened once."

"True but very few people ever manage to get caught in a dead Grat's vines and progressively hogtie themselves trying to get loose." She retorted.

Zell Grinned. "That's true enough." His smile faded and his eyes shifted around the room. "So how is he?" He asked. He tried to make the question sound nonchalant but the doctor knew the question was laced with worry.

"Much better than I would have expected. Most of his burns seem to be healing much faster than I expected. There is also a remarkable lack of infection." Her voice took on a sadder edge." There is nothing I could do for his eye though. The socket was too battered to consider a false eye. The best I could do was to graft a new eyelid and sew it shut for him."

Zell winced and screwed his eyes shut at the memory of Squall's hollow eye socket. "I have no idea how he managed to keep up with us." He said more to himself than to her. "I mean I know is strong and stubborn but that defies all reason." His brow furrowed as a memory returned. "There was something else doc."

Dr. Kadowaki motioned for him to continue.

"He talked to himself." Zell said. "He tried to hide it but I noticed and I am pretty sure Irvine did too. It wasn't just ramblings. He was asking and answering questions, but not answering them. It was as if there was someone else in his head too. It was weird doc…"

The doctor thought for a moment and looked up. "I would chock it up to stress Zell but I will watch him closely when he awakens. Thank you for telling me."

"No prob Doc." Zell replied cheerfully.

"Would you be willing to do a favor for me Zell?" The doctor asked.

"Sure doc. Name it."

"Rinoa has been in with him since his arrival. She has not left his side. I want you to take her to get some food. Try to keep her mind away from the subject. I know it will be hard but she is tearing herself apart inside and I am worried."

"Sure thing doc." Zell replied. "Should I get her or…?"

"No. I will do it." The doctor said as she stood. "If you will wait outside it will just be a minute." Zell nodded and stepped outside the clinic.

Dr. Kadowaki stepped into the dark room. She immediately noticed that the beeping from the machine monitoring Squall's vital signs was faster than last night. "A definite plus." She said softly.

Rinoa was still facedown on the side of the bed, Squall's hand in hers. Dr. Kadowaki gently shook her shoulder. "Rinoa. Rinoa wake up." She said softly. Rinoa groaned softly and slowly sat up. Dr. Kadowaki winced as her neck and back popped. Rinoa's eyes finally focused on her.

"Good morning." Rinoa said sleepily. "What is it?"

"Rinoa I want you to go and eat. Zell is waiting for you. I need to run some tests anyway."

"No." Rinoa said defiantly. "I am not leaving him. He needs me."

"Rinoa he needs you well rested and healthy." Dr. Kadowaki said sternly. "Now you can either go and get some breakfast with Zell or I can place you under sedation and feed you through an IV. It's up to you."

Rinoa scowled and stood. "Fine."

The doctor smiled. "It is the best thing to do Rinoa. He will be just fine. His vitals are much stronger than last night."

Rinoa brightened a bit. "Ok." She said simply and walked out of the room.

Dr. Kadowaki sighed and turned to Squall and began her examinations. "You had better wake up soon." She said. "Otherwise I am going to have to start sedating everyone that walks in." She smiled "Actually…the idea has merit even if you do wake up."

Zell looked up as the doors hissed open and Rinoa stepped out. "Hey Rin." He said cheerfully. "Hungry?"

Rinoa smiled. She couldn't help but not smile. Zell just did that to people. "I guess I could eat." She replied.

"Alright!" Zell cried in triumph. "Let's hurry and see if we can't score some hot dogs." He grabbed her hand and all but dragged her to the cafeteria.

"Zell slow down." Rinoa protested as she tried to tug out of his grip. Zell finally released her at the entrance to the Cafeteria.

"Sorry." He said, scratching the back of his head. "I got a bit excited. I'm gonna jump in the hot dog line. See ya in a few." He jogged over to the long line of students and instructors.

Rinoa turned and headed to the shorter but still fairly long breakfast line. The wait gave her time to think and her thoughts invariably turned back to Squall. Now that she was less worried about his survival and more worried about what had happened to him. The doctor had said she thought it was torture. She felt nauseous at the thought. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up. The line had moved forward while she was lost in thought. Mumbling an apology she stepped forward and ordered her food.

She stepped away from the counter with her plate of eggs, waffles drenched in syrup and butter, bacon and a bowl of oatmeal. The woman behind the counter had commented that she looked thin and need to "fatten up" and had put nearly twice what she put on the other plates. Rinoa retrieved a glass of juice from the dispenser and made her way over to Zell, who was gleefully stuffing his face with hot dogs. She sat down and quietly began to eat. Her thoughts would never settle on any one thing, but all her thoughts were revolving around the same subject again and again. Squall.

Zell looked up from his feeding frenzy and noticed that Rinoa had barely touched her food. He sighed and set down his fourth hot dog.

"Ok Rin. Spill. What's on your mind? It's sumthin about Squall right?"

Rinoa nodded and looked up at Zell. "Zell what happened out there? Cid said it might be dangerous and just before you guys left I got this really bad feeling that something was going to happen. But nothing like this."

Zell opened his mouth, and then closed it again. "I dunno Rin. Things were going well at first. We infiltrated. Got information with minimal fuss. The Squall started actin all weird."

"How?" Rinoa interrupted.

"That's…That's not my place to say Rin. Sorry. You will have to talk about it with him when he wakes up."

"Zell…. no you can't just stop there. I need to know. This is important to me."

"Sorry Rinoa. I said more than I should have already." Zell was cut off by Rinoa grabbing her tray and angrily storming off.

"Shit." Zell cursed softly. "I screwed that up pretty bad." He regarded his last hotdog with distaste. Then stood up, dumped the rest of his food in the garbage and walked out of the cafeteria.

Zell shuffled into the library. At the desk Angela's eyes brightened and she smiled brightly when he came in. Then her smile faded when she saw how dour he looked.

"Zell sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked.

Zell plopped down on a chair and rested his head on his hands. "I think I screwed up bad. Doc Kadowaki told me to take Rinoa to breakfast and get her mind off Squall. But when I saw how bummed out she was I asked her what was wrong. Then she asks me what happened…and I started to tell her. When I realized I shouldn't, I stopped. But I am pretty sure that I just made her even more worried."

Angela got up from her desk and went around to hug Zell. "Sweetie I know you didn't mean any harm. Just give her some space until Squall comes around. She will forgive you soon enough."

Zell perked. "Ya think so?"

"I know so." Angela smiled. "Now get out of here you goof.

Zell grinned and kissed her cheek before he headed out of the library with a definite bounce in his step. Angela sighed happily then went back to work.

A low groan coming from Squall's room startled Dr. Kadowaki out of her paperwork. She rushed into the room to find Squall wide awake and gazing around the room.

"Welcome back to the land of the living Commander. How are you feeling?"

Squall considered this for a second. "My head hurts." He replied in a dry tone.

Dr. Kadowaki couldn't help but grin. "If I recall commander you used that exact phrase the last time you came into my office for treatment."

Squall smirked. "I think it hurts a bit more than last time Doc." He started to sit up.

"Oh no you don't." The doctor pushed him back. You are not going anywhere Mister. Not until I have a chance to give you a full look-over.

"Whatever."

"That's better." She replied. "Now hold still. I want to check those burns of yours."

Squall laid back and the doctor slowly peeled away the bandages over his chest, then gasped loudly and backed away. "Ya..your…your burns." She stammered.

"What is it?" Squall looked down at his chest and saw what startled her so much. His burns were completely gone with light scars the only thing that indicated they were even there.

"How can this be?" The Doctor asked, more to herself than anyone else. Burns like these should have taken at least two weeks to heal the far. She looked up at Squall. Did you use any healing magic on yourself?

"_She musssssnt know of our bond."_ Alistair hissed in his head.

Squall shook his head. "No." He said.

"This is very odd. I'd like to run some more tests." The doctor replied.

"I'd rather not. I need to give the headmaster my report and I would like to see Rinoa." Squall said in his usual monotone.

Dr. Kadowaki sighed. "Well there is no reason I can't release you. Your clothes are on the shelf. However if you change your mind I would like to run some tests."

"I don't think so." Squall said.

"Very well Squall." She walked out of the room.

"_She isss sussspiciousss."_ Alistar hissed in his head.

"You can read thoughts?" Squall asked as he stripped off his hospital gown. He looked at the mirror. Surprise marred his features as he realized that except for his eye he was fully healed.

"_No. It isss her emotionsssss I ssssee. Like vibrant colorssss they dance around each persssson you sssspeak with._

"Doesn't that get annoying?"

"_It hassss itssss usssessss. But it can become irkssssome if I let it. I ssssimply choossse not to let it become sssso_.

Squall dressed himself in his usual attire and stepped out into the waiting room. "Thank you Doctor. You patched me up nicely as always." A smile crept to Squall's lips.

Dr. Kadowaki, who rarely saw Squall smile was too astonished to reply and just smiled back and waved as he walked out.

You let your moodsss change so eassssily. Why? On the battlefield you are like granite. Yet in thissss place you will be cold one moment and warm the other?

"For years I was cold about everything. But over time I learned that I could not stay that way all the time. So instead I learned when it was best to be cold and when to let my emotions show. The battlefield is no place for emotions as you know. But we are not in battle now are we my friend?"

Alistar was silent for several seconds. It sssseemsss I have asss much to learn from you asss you from me.

Squall nodded and continued around the path the to SEED dormitories.

A/N Hi all. I feel shitty for leaving the story hanging like this. The one time I manage to update on time and what happens. I gotta cut it off. Well I have a legit reason. In. seven hours. I will be leaving for Yuma Arizona for some temporary duty. Whoopee huh? Well that is why I cut it off here. However there is good news. I am brining the computer. Hopefully I will have means to update. If not. I do swear on my FF8 disc (which I value very much) That I will have at least an additional 15-20 thousand words for you guys. It is uplifting to see every single review be a positive one. However I need to see those guys. Please please review. I can check those while I am gone. My offer from the last chapter carries forward as well. Ideas tips etc. Give them. Critiques. I want somebody to find something wrong with my story. Please. I know I am not dead on. Tell me what you think. All who help will get my personal thanks and a make believe cookie. So how does this sound. If you guys give me 15 reviews. Or 6 good long ones with critiques. I will shoot for 25,000 words. But this offer will not last forever. I will only be gone till the beginning of May.

Do we have a deal? I hope so.

Also thanks to everybody who reviewed. Forgive me for not listing this time but I am tired and need to submit or you guys wont see this.

History shall be kind to me for I intend to write it. (Winston Churchill)


End file.
